Hair curler and method of treating hair



Nov. 9, 1954 H- J. SPENCER HAIR CURLER AND METHOD OF TREATING HAIROriginal Filed July 8, 1946 United States Patent" HAIR CURLERANDHRERTHOD OF TREATING Helen J; Spencer, SoutlrPasadena, Califi,assignor, by direct and mesne'assignments, of one-third to'LloydSpencer, Los Angeles, and one-third' to IrvingKaplan, Pasadena, Calif.

'Continuation of application Serial No..681,881,-.July 8,

1946. This application'February-Z, 1951, Serial No. 209,108

3 Claims; cl.- 132-43 My invention relates to hair-curlersand to amethod of treating hair, and among the objects of'my invention are:

from the roots to the tips of the hair.

Second, to provide a hair curler'and method which tend to' apply thehair treatment fl'uidin proportion to the needs of the hair; that is,the tips of the-hair receive the greater applicationwhereas. the rootends receive. a minimum amount.

Third, to provide a hair curler which, byreason of its oil or, lubricantsupplying property greatly reduces the tendency of the hair tosplitatthe ends subsequent to a permanent Wave and in general tendstoimprove and render more natural the effect ofv the permanent wave.

Fourth, to provide a hair curler which has a relatively soft bodyaboutwhich the hair is:. wound and readily folded end portions so thatthe curler offers minimum discomfort when worn during sleep.

Fifth, to provide a hair curler having an oilor; lubricant impregnatedbody and relatively lubricant. free reraining tabs so that when thecurler is wrapped with hair the lubricating body is virtually entirelycovered and little if any of the lubricant escapes on the pillow if wornwhen one is sleeping.

Sixth, to provide a hair curler which is particularly economical ofmanufacture so that it may be used once or only a few times and thendiscarded.

With the above and other objects in view, reference is directed to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of my curler before use.

Figure 2 is another perspective view thereof showing the manner in whichthe ends are folded when in use.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View thereof taken through 3-3 ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 is a partial sectional, partial elevational view of a modifiedform of my hair curler.

Figure 5 is likewise a partial sectional, partial elevational view ofanother form of my hair curler.

Figure 6 is a perspective of a further modified form of my curlerwherein ribbon elements are provided to tie the curler in place.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatical transverse sectional view of my hair curlershowing the manner in which hair is wound thereon to cause greaterlubrication of the tip ends than the root ends.

My hair curler as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 comprises a core 1preferably in the form of a flat strip of metal such as soft iron orcopper or an alloy. The central portion of the core is covered by acylindrical pad 2. The pad is relatively soft and may be formed ofcotton or paper or other soft, absorbent, compressible material. The padmay be covered by a woven serving 3 or may be formed of a fitted orgauzelike porous material such as are used to encase absorbent medicalpads.

The pad is at least semi-saturated with a hair treating liquid,preferably an oil which supplements the natural hair oil, althoughso-called brilliantine may be used. Experimentation and trial have shownthat only partial saturation is required in order to provide a satis-2,693,809 Patented Nov. 9, 1954 2. factory degree of oil transfer: from:the padding -to-. the hair;';furthermore-z, the; curler, may: be;usedsseveraltimes befores.-the.- quantitycf :oil is rcduced to-ithepointthatzthe curler becomes ineffective.

The. core 12' issprovidedwith a coating 4.;which may cover: theaentirelengthton onlyvthe; protruding or.- tab portions .5-.- The :coatingis.preferably a semi-soft plastic capable of bending with the. core. 1.

As shown in Figures 2 and 7 the curler. is'placedat the-extremity of .alockcfihair-and' the hair wound upon the padding, from the tips towardtheroots, the successive' convolutions: of hair being superposed oneupon theother. Tensionispreferably applied to the hair as it is wrappedabout the-curler tq stretch the hairand improve the tendency'yof 'thecurler to produce or train azcurl in-the, hair;furthermorethecompression-of "the hairwrapped about the paddingcausesthe oil'to exude. Itv willbe observed, particularly fromFigure Gthatthetip ends of the' hair adjacentthepadding tend to receive more oil thanthe root end which is spaced therefrom by intervening hair.; This isjustas desired, for one after effect of -a permanentwave is to impair theability ofthe hair toconduct'oil from thescalp to the hair tips, and thepermanent wave treatment itself removes or extracts a portion of thenatural oil and to agreater extent at the tips-than atthe roots, Oftenthe ends of the-hair split following a permanent wave giving; a; fuzzyappearance, this. conditionis minimized by the oil applied-'-andretainedfora: Periodgoftime in contact with the hair; by reason ofmy'curler;

Afterw-indingthehair-intoa roll, the tab ends 5- are folded'over asshown in Figures 2' and 7' holding the curleryand hairin place. It willbe observed that virtually allof the padding 2' -may be coveredby. thehair so thatthe hair when done up on my 'curlers is not particularlyoily and onemay sleep-with the curlers in place without; appreciableoozing of excess oil onto the pillow. Such use of '"my curlersat.night-is also enhanced by the fact that the relatively' small wirecore is completely covered and the curler asa whole, is soft so that itoffers aminimum of discomfiture.

Reference is now directed to Figure 4,. The curler herev illustratedfunctionsidentically to the first described curler but 'is manufacturedin a different manner. This curler includes a core 11 of copper or softiron wire over which is woven a single or multiple serving 12. To thisextent the core may be substantially identical to slip back wire such asused in electrical wiring particularly radio circuits. The serving onsuch wire is impregnated with a paraffin or similar material and thecore as I employ it may be similarly treated. Alternatively or inaddition to the woven serving 12, the wire may have a plastic or oilresistant synthetic rubber serving. If a slip back type of wire is usedthe serving may be slipped from the end of the wire before cutting thewire, then pulled over the end to form a protective end covering 13.

The core here described may be padded in the manner of the firstdescribed curler; however, in this case it is shown as wrapped severalconvolutions with a web or square piece of absorbent material 14 overwhich is wrapped a clothlike webbing 15. The extremities of the paddingand webbing may be secured, tamale" wise, by tied or stapled bands 16.As in the first instance, the padding 14 is semi-saturated orimpregnated with an oil or hair lubricant.

Reference is now directed to the curler shown in Figure 5. This curlerincludes a core 21 of copper or soft steel around which is helicallywrapped a stringlike member 22. Only a single or minimum number ofwrappings are applied around the extremities 23 of the wire core,whereas the central portion 24 is built up of a series of helicallayers. Ordinary cotton string is satisfactory; also ordinary brownpackage twine having hemplike characteristics has been foundsatisfactory, particularly in that a gripping action is accomplishedwhich aids in winding the hair under tension about the curler. Thisgripping action is further enhanced by the helical manner in which thewrapping is applied as the strands of hair wedge between theconvolutions.

The extremities 23 of the curler are preferably impregnated or coatedwith an oil resistant substance, having adhesive qualities so that thewrapping will not unwind. The central enlarged portion 24 issemi-saturated with a hair lubricant.

The tendency for the absorbent body or pad to grip the hair so thattension may be applied is not confined to the form shown in Figure 5. Ifopen mesh sewing is employed or if the felt or gauze-like covering suchas employed in surgical pads is used a gripping action is attained. Asindicated previously it is highly desirable to obtain a light hold onthe ends of the hair when wrapping so that the tension needed to effecta good cur may be obtained.

Reference is now directed to Figure 6. Here the curler may take any ofthe forms previously described within the region of the padding but theextended end portions are omitted and instead ribbons 31 are provided,the ends of which may be tied together in a bow.

A core 32 of soft steel or copper is preferred within the padding.However, inasmuch as the purpose in this case is merely to stiffen thecurler, other semi-stiff material such as tightly twisted paper stock ora length of plastic, or plastic impregnated material may be used. Theribbon preferably extends through the curler and continues beyond theends. Wrapped about the core is padding material 33 and this is coveredwith a mesh 34. Or as indicated above, the padding with or without aseparate covering may take any of the previously described forms.

It should be observed, particularly in regard to the construction shownin Figures 1, 2, and 3 that the padding, especially if it comprisescotton batting or similar material permits torsional displacement of thesurface with respect to the core 1 as the hair is drawn tight. By reasonof this fact, and the provision of a flat core which may be easilygrasped to transmit a torsional force, not only may the curler be giventhat extra twist which causes the hair to draw tight, but also the coremay be turned after the hair resists further turning of the surface ofthe curler until tab ends 5 are in proper position to be folded.

It will be observed that, in all forms, the curler is in the nature of asoft, compressible, substantially cylindrical cartridge, around whichthe hair is wound, as explained.

While I have described the invention as designed especially for applyingoil or brilliantine to the hair, it is obvious that the basic principuesthereof can equally well be employed for applying any desired hairtreating liquid.

The present application is a continuation of my prior co-pendingapplication S. N. 681,881, filed July 8, 1946, and now abandoned. 7-

Having thus described certain embodiments of my invention, I do notdesire to be limited thereto but intend to protect all novelty inherentin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hair curler comprising: a central bendable reinforcing core;relatively non-absorbent yieldable coverings for the extremities of saidcore; an enlarged absorbent body covering the central portion of saidcore; and a hair lubricant impregnating said body.

2. As an article of manufacture, a hair curler comprising: a body ofabsorbent material impregnated with a hair lubricant whereby whenwrapped with a lock of hair the constricting force of the hair causesthe lubricant to exude principally into the initial convolutions ofhair, the outer convolutions of hair tending to form a protectivecovering to minimize transfer of the lubricant to the scalp andextraneous objects; and a flat metallic strip threaded through said bodyand forming projecting tabs adapted to be folded over the hair to clampthe hair wrapped on said body.

3. As an article of manufacture, a hair curler comprising an elongatedbody of soft, compressible, absorbent material, and a semi-rigidbendable core extending therethrough and projecting from the endsthereof, said body of absorbent material being impregnated with a hairtreating liquid and having a surface tending to frictionally grip thehair, whereby, when the tip of a lock of hair is applied to said body ittends to cling thereto, thus facilitating winding, and as the lock ofhair is wound thereon from the tip toward the roots, the compressionexerted by the hair causes the liquid to exude from said body andpermeate the roll of hair, from the inside,

outwardly, and the projecting ends of said bendable core being adaptedto be bent over on the roll of hair, thus securing it in wound position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,592,688 Webster July 13, 1926 2,105,730 Gottlieb Jan. 18,1938 2,173,102 Frank Sept. 19, 1939

